The winners of WAN-IFRA’s World Digital Media Awards (WDMA) were awarded during the Gala Dinner at the World News Media Congress (WNMC) at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow on Sunday, 2 June.
The World Digital Media Awards is the news media industry’s only truly global digital media competition. The 2019 winners came from the winners of our 2018 regional Digital Media Awards in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and South Asia, which together provide news publishers with regular showcases for the best-practice innovation in digital publishing worldwide.
The winners are:
Best News Website or Mobile Service: Guardian News & Media, United Kingdom
Project: www.theguardian.com
Said our judges: “The Guardian continues to pave the way in its delivery of the highest quality experiential journalism. The number of people willing to pay for this despite it remaining essentially a free service speaks to the value it delivers its audience. Highly commended.”
Best in Lifestyle, Sports, Entertainment Website or Mobile Services: Arré India, India
Project: Arré is a new-media organisation. They produce narratives across text, web series, fiction and non-fiction video, as well as short viral videos and sketches.
“This entry stands out for its distinctive commitment to video entertainment,” said our judges. “The clean, impactful design is the icing on the cake. Beautiful product.”
Best Use of Online Video: The New York Times, USA
Project: Visual Vocabulary
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000005473328/las-vegas-shooting-timeline-12-bursts.html
“The NY Times series of visual investigations is a stellar example of digital video reporting at its best,” said one of our judges. “The combination of different types of video, animations, graphics, audio analysis, camera techniques, together with world-class investigative reporting approaches, put this work at the very forefront of online video.”
Best Data Visualization: Guardian US, USA
Project: Bussed Out: How America moves its homeless
“This work dazzles by the effects in the visualisations, very elegant in general,” said one of our judges. “It is worth highlighting its theme, journalism did what the authorities do not, and it is to see what happened with the users, and the consequences of said “migration”.”
“This data visualization is stunning,” noted another judge. “The concept being portrayed has been done seamlessly. It is both informative and visually appealing.”
Best Reader Revenue Initiative: Guardian US, USA
Project: This Land is Your Land
www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/05/public-lands-project-description
“A great example of what newsrooms and commercial teams can achieve when they work together using data to guide their decision-making,” said one of our judges. “No doubt this will prove to be a repeatable model the Guardian can replicate across its business driving future growth.”
Best Branded Content Project: R.AGE, Malaysia
Project: #StandTogether – A client-sponsored R.AGE campaign to cultivate a culture of kindness in schools across the country.
Said one of our judges: “An excellent example of a highly successful campaign bringing together and integrating editorial interests, sponsor objectives and audience needs. Fantastic work!”
Best Digital News Start-up: JOTA, Brazil
Project: JOTA
“A product of unquestionable quality that stands out for its business model,” said one judge. “The amount of newsletter and quality information for which they charge them ensures a great future. Its design although conservative is fine.“
Another judge called it “a well executed product launchin response to a clear market need with a robust and evolving business model. If only all new digital products were this clearly thought out!”
Best in Social Media Engagement: Aftonbladet (Schibsted Sverige), Sweden
Project: Team in your heart
http://lidh.story.aftonbladet.se/chapter/laget-i-ditt-hjarta/
“Social media engagement for commercial outlets must demonstrate a return on investment in real terms, and your project has achieved this – alongside a powerful and engaging concept for sports fans across a range of social media platforms. I think you should be very pleased indeed with the outcome“
Best Digital Marketing Campaign: Los Angeles Times, USA
Project: Dirty John
www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-dirty-john/
“Brilliant campaign to launch a podcast series,” noted one of our judges. “Great visuals and clever rollout.”
Best Innovation to Engage Youth Audiences: AJ+ Español / Animal Político / Pop-Up Newsroom, Mexico
Project: Verificado 2018
“A very impressive effort involving so many newsrooms in Mexico – educating young people as well as providing them with verified and impartial information about elections in the time where so many voted for the first time is very important,” said one of our judges. “It’s great to see Mexico leading the way in tackling the problem which is not being solved effectively in so many countries worldwide.”
The World News Media Congress continues on Monday in Glasgow. See full programme details and a list of speakers at: https://events.wan-ifra.org/events/world-news-media-congress-2019/programme